With this ring...

With all my pregnancies, I have a tendency to swell. My feet, legs and especially hands. Around the 5 month mark, I have to take off my wedding ring because it's just too tight! But I do get the privilege of replacing it with a very special ring--my grandmommy Adaline's engagement ring.

This is very significant to me... My grandmommy was truly an amazing lady. I didn't get to know her near as well as I would have liked--she lived in Little Rock and I was in Missouri most of the time. But we did get to be with her at least two to three times a year around holidays. She was a very hard-working woman with the biggest heart of anyone I knew! (And her two daughters are JUST like her! I'm privileged to be a part of a wonderful legacy with my mother, Aunt Pat and my grandmother) She worked full time for Winthrop Rockefeller as his personal administrative assistant, but ALWAYS had time for her family. She displayed loyalty unlike any other. I think she spent her entire wages on buying gifts for her family and all of her grandchildren. Grandmommy was definitely generous and self-sacrificing.

The ring that my grandfather gave grandmommy is absolutely beautiful and unique. It is an exact (but smaller) replica of my grandfather's Naval Academy graduation ring. I guess that was a Naval Academy tradition because my mother's engagement ring was just like that--a miniature replica of my dad's Academy graduation ring. Grandmommy's ring (Adalynn's namesake) has her name inscribed on the inside--very, very cool.

I'll never forget when my grandmother had her first stroke... it was while I was trying out for Razorback cheerleader. I was devastated and was ready to leave to go with my mom to Little Rock. But Mom talked me out of it saying, "You know that Grandmommy would rather you stay and finish tryouts...that would mean more to her!" She's right... Grandmommy ALWAYS put everyone before herself. I think I worked even harder with this kind of incentive. I did end up making cheerleader and I got to share that news with her over the phone. It was a very meaningful time.

Grandmommy ending up living for another 8 years in a nursing home in Little Rock. As a result of the stroke, she had limited speech and abilities. I remember her always wanting to know how we were doing… She would wave her one good hand in a circle and say “…and?” She just wanted to hear us talk about ourselves.

To her dying day she put everyone else’s needs before her own. She had plenty to complain or grumble about, but she chose to focus on everyone else. Her optimism was (and still is) inspiring. She passed away in '98 with her family surrounding her—just like she would have wanted it.

So with this ring, I get a reminder of a very special lady. I get a reminder of an amazing legacy that I long to leave for future generations… And with this ring, I get to share this story with Adaline’s namesake—Adalynn. I can’t wait to give this to her some day. What a meaningful symbol for such an amazing legacy and incredible woman.


For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:5